Kiwi fibre sets the world spinning

West Auckland business Revolution Fibres is what the company describes first nanofibre producer in the world to meet aerospace industry standards.

West Auckland business Revolution Fibres is what the company describes first nanofibre producer in the world to meet aerospace industry standards.

The AS9100c certification, a quality assurance requirement for all aerospace manufacturers and suppliers, will allow the company to further develop nanofibre products for its aerospace clients overseas.

Managing director Iain Hosie says the certification is a significant step in the transition of Revolution Fibres from a world class research and development entity to offering large-scale manufacturing services in a diverse range of industries.

He says being AS9100c certified also enhances Revolution Fibres’ Xantulayr product, which is the world’s only commercially available nanofibre composite reinforcement veil.

“The world is constantly searching for textiles that are better and stronger, but also lighter and more functional, and that’s what makes nanofibre so remarkable. And now with this certification, it allows us take nanofibre technology and the products we produce to the next level,” says Mr Hosie.

Revolution Fibres ground breaking electro-spinning technology creates nanofibre out of a range of materials including polymers and natural sources such as collagen from hoki fish skins.

It is used to do everything from strengthen fishing rods through to enhancing satellite components, and existing nanofibre product lines that Revolution Fibres helped develop include filters for HRV Next Generation ventilation systems and anti-allergy pillow liner Nanodream.

Hosie says the AS9100c certification shows the growing level of interest and confidence the company’s products are receiving from global industries.

“Revolution Fibres started the nanofibre revolution in New Zealand five years ago with a goal to grow the New Zealand-based nanofibre export industry and now that is becoming a reality.”

The company’s product development arm, Nanofibre Customisation Services, is also subject to the certification meaning there is quality assurance across all parts of the business.

The cloud-based solution, supplied locally by Mike Jacobs and Associates, allowed Revolution Fibres to “institutionalise” its core processes and track both the company’s performance and efficiency, to ensure they conformed with AS9100 standards.

Brent Tucker, Revolution Fibres operations manager, says having this information at hand was essential to achieving the new certification.

“Usually, especially for a small business like us, quality assurance protocols such as AS9100 are incredibly time consuming and require a lot of complex paperwork. But with SimpleTrak everything was in one place.”

Mike Cranna of MJ&A says it is key for companies to monitor the quality of their inputs, the condition of their assets to ensure optimum production quality, and customer satisfaction.

“SimpleTrak helps companies like Revolution Fibres to achieve this effectively and efficiently. It allows start-ups and smaller companies to establish systems to monitor, analyse and improve their business processes.

“Ultimately that means reducing risk, improving efficiency, and, when it comes to achieving a complex certification like Revolution just has, all the information they needed was right at their fingertips.”

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